A Kubu Island Adventure

PRICE FROM:

US$14,390 and up

DURATION:

5 nights/ 6 days

DEPARTURE:

01 June to 30 September

GROUP SIZE:

Enquire with reservations

PRICE FROM:

US$14,390 and up

DURATION:

5 nights/ 6 days

DEPARTURE:

01 June to 30 September

GROUP SIZE:

Enquire with reservations

Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Pans is one of the most intriguing places on earth.

Why You’ll Love It:

  • Experience all corners of the Kalahari, the desert with the greatest species diversity in the world, on game drives, night drives and walks with the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen.
  • Spend time at Jack’s Camp, one of the most iconic camps on the continent. This is where unreal style, meets real adventure!
  • Set out on a quad bike and lose contact with time, space and direction as you traverse the enigmatic Makgadikgadi salt pans.
  • Sleep under the stars, explorer-style, in a five-gazillion-star bedroom on the Lost Island of the Baobabs.
  • Explore the magnificent Kubu Island, a granite profusion that’s one of the most beautiful spots in Botswana, and full of intriguing detail.

This itinerary is fully customizable. To change this itinerary, please enquire with us.

What’s Included:

  • Accommodation, guest laundry, all meals & local beverages
  • All light aircraft and road transfers to and from Maun
  • All light aircraft and road transfers between camps
  • Daily activities, expert guiding, park entrance fees & VAT

Exclusions: Premium brand drinks, gratuities and fully comprehensive travel insurance.

SAND & STARS

Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Pans is one of the most intriguing places on earth. Once a super-lake, it’s crusty flats are filled with salt, sand, sun and stones. People often call these bright white salt-scapes otherworldly or moon-like, but there is nowhere more African than the Makgadikgadi. But perhaps the most extraordinary place of all is Kubu Island, a dry granite rock island located here – and this is exactly where you’re headed on this five-night expedition by quad bike. Standing sentinel across the sand and filled with baobabs larger than buses and older than Christ, the island is a holy secret of the Bushmen and a place of ancient power and ritual, and to visit is something truly special.

You will spend your first two nights at the iconic Jack’s Camp and soak up the magic of the Kalahari Desert on game drives, night drives and bushmen walks. Then, it’s time to hop aboard your quad bike and barrel across the expanse of scorched, white earth of the Makgadikgadi Pans. Travelling in convoy, Indian-fashion, ensures a low-impact trespass and you’ll leave no trace of your existence behind as you zoom towards Kubu Island and the open-air fly camp. So, what are you waiting for? Open throttle, close your eyes and travel; there’s absolutely nothing to crash into…

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive at Jack’s Camp, Makgadikgadi Pans

 

From Maun, you’ll fly to the Makgadikgadi Pans and settle into Jack’s Camp, a 1940s-style oasis in the heart of the shimmering salt pans.

Day 2: Jack’s Camp, Makgadikgadi Pans

Spend today exploring the pans, meeting the cheeky meerkats and game driving amongst the desert wildlife.

Wildlife

Your expedition will start in the Makgadikgadi, home of the cheekiest creatures of them all – the meerkat. Due to the ongoing habituation programme it’s possible to get up close and personal with the captivating animals and on chilly mornings, you might well find a meerkat snuggling up against you for warmth! On game drives, expect to see springbok, gemsbok, red hartebeest and the elusive brown hyena, consummate desert specialists that can survive in arid areas where food and water are scarce.

Days 3 & 4: Lost Island of the Baobabs

Rev your engine and traverse the endless pans on quad bike to the Lost Island of the Baobabs, watching the mirages swim and eddy and losing all sense of time and direction. Day four is reserved for Kubu Island; crowned with an array of ancient, gnarled baobabs and surrounded on three sides by a vast grey emptiness, Kubu has a unique atmosphere and is one of the most graphically beautiful spots in Botswana.

Accommodations

On your expedition to Kubu Island, a fly camp will be set up on the magical Lost Island of the Baobabs. You’ll sleep under the stars, surrounded by towering boulders and squat baobabs in the comfiest of bedrolls with the fluffiest of duvets. Water for showers bubbles over the fire and you’ll find a hot water bottle tucked beneath the sheets when sleep finally overcomes. The food prepared at The Lost Island of Baobabs and at Kubu is impeccable; fresh and original dishes are laid out on white tablecloths and served with bone-handled cutlery – and the drinks cabinet is always open. This isn’t a five-star camp; this is a five-gazillion-star camp – and you don’t have to share it with another soul…

Please note that there is no phone signal or internet connection at the Lost Island of the Baobabs and with no electricity either, it’s advisable to bring a fully-charged set of spare camera batteries with you.

Wildlife

Kubu is close to what is probably the biggest Greater flamingo breeding site in the world. When the water level is high, almost 30,000 birds fledge towards the site and although the nests are abandoned during the dry season, the acres of strangely shaped mud mounds are an eerie and compelling sight.

And it’s not just the animals that make this trip so special. How about visits to the mouth of the Zambezi in search of semi-precious stones? Maybe you’d like to explore the dramatic, 400-foot escarpment that signals then end of the staggering Great Rift Valley? Or perhaps clamber to the top of ancient granite boulders for mile upon never-ending mile of jaw-dropping views?

 

Day 5: Jack’s Camp, Makgadikgadi Pans

Quad bike back to the comfort of Jack’s (and the swimming pool!) for one last night.

Day 6: Fly back to Maun for your onward flight

If you’re not departing too early in the morning, spend a little time with the Zu/’hoasi people and share in their fascinating practices and traditions in a gentle introduction to the Bushmen way of life.

Extension Idea: Explore the Okavango Delta

For a completely contrasting experience, spend a few nights in the green and juicy Khwai Private Reserve in the Okavango Delta region of Botswana.

Ready to book this safari?

This itinerary starts at US$14,390 and up/person* and is fully customizable based on the number of people and travel dates.

Start Planning

Additional Information

When to Go & What to Pack:

The Kubu Island expedition can be done during the winter dry season, from the 1st of June to the 30th of September. Even in this relatively predictable dry season (although the weather in the pans is never entirely predictable…), each Kubu Expedition is unique and the route you’ll take across the lunar-like earth is never quite the same. In fact, an expedition can cover anything from 400 – 600 kilometers!

Your bag should most definitely include a sturdy pair of boots – we highly recommend RM Williams ‘Gardner Boots’, Clarks ‘Desert Boots’ or some trusty Timberlands – and a kikoy or light sarong to wrap around your head whilst zooming around on a quad bike. Moisturiser and lip balm will ward off the drying desert heat, and good fleece or jacket is a must for the chilly mornings and evenings. Other than that, your usual safari wardrobe and gear will suffice.

Policies & Access:

Child Policy: All ages welcome at parental discretion! Please enquire for more information on our child rates and policies.

Disabled Access: Please enquire with reservations.

Wifi: Wifi is not available for the duration of this trip.

Excluded: Premium brand drinks, gratuities and fully comprehensive travel insurance.

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